So, the other day I got curious about something kinda specific. I started wondering about football players, you know, the guys who made it to the NFL, who came from Miami University. Not the one in Florida, the one in Ohio. Seemed like an interesting rabbit hole to go down.
My first step was pretty basic. I just went online and typed in something like “Miami Ohio NFL players”. You get a bunch of stuff right away, of course. Some names pop up immediately, the really famous ones. Ben Roethlisberger, obviously, he’s probably the first one most people think of.
But I didn’t want to stop there. I figured there had to be more than just the household names. I wanted to get a better picture, maybe find guys from different eras or positions who weren’t always in the headlines. So, I started digging a bit deeper.
Finding More Names
I tried looking around websites that track college players and where they end up. Some sports stats sites have sections where you can filter by college. That helped. I spent some time clicking through lists, trying to confirm they actually played in a real NFL game, not just preseason or practice squad stuff.
It took a little while. You find a name, then maybe double-check it on another site just to be sure. Sometimes you find lists people have already put together on forums or fan pages, but you gotta be careful if those are accurate or up-to-date.
I started making my own little list as I went along. Just jotting down names I could confirm. I didn’t get super detailed with stats or anything, just the player and maybe their position, roughly when they played. It was more about seeing the connection between the school and the league.
- Found some offensive linemen.
- A few defensive guys showed up too.
- Even some specialists, like kickers or punters.
Putting it Together
After spending a good chunk of time searching and cross-referencing, I had a decent list going. It wasn’t exhaustive, I’m sure there might be guys I missed, especially from way back when records weren’t as good. But it felt pretty solid.
It was kinda cool seeing the range of players. You have the big stars, sure, but also lots of guys who carved out solid careers, played for a few years, contributed to their teams. It gives you a better appreciation for the program and the talent it produced over the years.
So yeah, that was my little project. Started with a simple question and ended up learning a bit more about the school’s football history and its link to the NFL. Just a fun way to spend some time, looking into something that caught my interest.
